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Pacesetters Phoenix, Alaska battle today

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
EARLY Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup leaders Phoenix Fuel Masters and Alaska Aces collide in the main game today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in a match that will also see former Aces star Calvin Abueva take on his former team for the first time.
Meeting after they parted ways in the in-between conference break, Mr. Abueva looks to help Phoenix (2-0) get the better of Alaska (2-0) in their scheduled 7 p.m. encounter and keep their unblemished record intact in the season-ending PBA conference while sending the Aces to their first defeat.
The Fuel Masters are off to a solid start in the ongoing tournament led by returning import Eugene Phelps.
Mr. Phelps has been steady for Phoenix, averaging 40 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks in their victories over Columbian Dyip and NorthPort Batang Pier in that order.
Mr. Abueva, too, has kicked off his new journey with the Fuel Masters on the right foot with all-around numbers of 12 points, 9.5 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and 1.5 steals per game. These are apart from the energy and hustle he gives coming off the bench for the Louie Alas-coached team.
Also having it steady for the Fuel Masters are Matthew Wright, Jason Perkins, LA Revilla, and RJ Jazul.
Against Northport on Sunday, Phoenix was just unrelenting as it raced to a 132-91 victory to make it 2-of-2 in the Governors’ Cup.
Facing his former team for the first time, Mr. Abueva said he is looking forward to the game and expects it to be an exciting contest.
“It’s a good matchup. It’s going to be an exciting game. Looking forward to enjoying it,” said Mr. Abueva of his highly anticipated first encounter with Alaska, where he spent his first six years in the PBA and won a championship with.
EXTENDING THE STREAK
Alaska, on the other hand, seeks to extend its good start that has seen it make a strong case as one of the teams to watch out for.
The Aces have been doing it with a balanced attack with import Mike Harris leading the charge.
Mr. Harris, making his first tour of duty in the PBA, is posting numbers of 19.5 points and 19.5 rebounds per contest.
Backstopping him are guards Simon Enciso (20.5 ppg) and Chris Banchero (14 ppg, 9.5 apg and 6 rpg) and forward Vic Manuel (14 ppg and 6.5 rpg) to help the Aces to their good start.
Like Phoenix, Alaska is coming off a huge victory over TNT Ka-Tropa, 125-96, on Sunday where it dominated all throughout the match, towed by the hot shooting of Mr. Enciso, who hit nine triples in the game.
That fiery shooting against the KaTropa earned Mr. Enciso the player of the week honors.
“We hope to sustain the kind of character we showed today in our next games,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said after their win over TNT.
“Our focus now is on Phoenix because they are also playing well. We will prepare against them,” he added.
Playing in the 4:30 p.m. opener, meanwhile, are the NLEX Road Warriors (1-2) and Columbian Dyip (0-2).

No. 1 Halep crashes out of US Open first round

NEW YORK — World number one Simona Halep was swept aside 6-2, 6-4 by 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi on Monday, the first top-seeded woman ever to lose in the US Open first round.
It was a second straight first-round exit at Flushing Meadows for Romania’s Halep, who dropped her opening match to Maria Sharapova last year.
The French Open champion had no answer for Kanepi’s powerful groundstrokes.
The Estonian fired 26 winners to Halep’s nine, and even her 28 unforced errors weren’t enough to derail her challenge as she brought the rallies to quick ends and remorselessly punished Halep’s second serve.
“Yesterday I thought I have beaten just once the world number one, today I had another chance,” said a beaming Kanepi, who defeated then No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Tokyo back in 2011.
Kanepi, whose six Grand Slam quarter-final appearances include a run to the last eight in New York last year, earned a second-round meeting with Swiss qualifier Jil Teichmann, a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Dalila Jakupovic.
WILLIAMS GETS WARM WELCOME
Serena Williams took the first cautious step towards a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title with a 6-4 6-0 first-round win over Magda Linette on Monday as an excited US Open crowd welcomed the new tennis mother back to the ‘Big Apple’.
It was not the imposing performance many have come to expect from Williams as the six-time champion continued to scrape the rust off her game following the birth of her first child.
The manner of the victory, however, mattered little to a home crowd that was just happy to see her back on court after sitting out last year.
“It is such a great feeling to be back out here,” said Williams. “It is one of those feeling I only get here in New York.”
Telling the crowd that her spirit was broken after not saying goodbye to her daughter Olympia before leaving for her match, Williams displayed little appetite for a fight during an uneven opening set until she finally seized control with a break to go up 4-3.
Williams, the winner of 72 career singles titles, has the ability to sense when she has an opponent on the ropes and moved in quickly to deliver the knockout punch, breaking the 68th ranked Pole to open the second.
While her game might not have been firing on all cylinders her ruthlessness remained razor sharp as the American showed no hesitation storming through second set finishing off her opponent with a thundering ace.
The Williams sisters bridged the afternoon and evening sessions on a steamy Arthur Ashe with Venus providing the opening act of the twin bill, grinding out a 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory over another former champion, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, before handing the stage over to her younger sibling.
The wins put the sisters on a collision course, leaving them just one victory away from a third-round showdown.
While Venus remains a potential obstacle standing in the way of a 24th Grand Slam, Serena’s path to the final was cleared of another major hurdle earlier on Monday when world number one Simona Halep was upset by Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
It might not have been a stylish win over Linette but it was nonetheless a stylish display by Williams.
As always, the fashion conscious Williams created a buzz as she appeared from the players tunnel under a spotlight wearing a leather style jacket over a frilly off the shoulder tennis dress and fishnet compression tights designed to help circulation and avoid blood clots. — AFP/Reuters

Filipino athletics bets still searching for breakthrough medal

THE Philippines’ Eric Shawn Cray placed seventh in the finals of the 400m hurdles on Monday extending the medal struggles of the country’s athletics team in the ongoing 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.
With less than a week left in the quadrennial continental sporting meet, the Philippine athletics team is still in search of its first medal and now risking extending its medal drought at the Asiad some more.
The last time Philippine athletics won a medal at the Asian Games was in 1994 in Hiroshima, Japan, where Elma Muros won a bronze in long jump.
Up against a top class field, Mr. Cray, a two-time Southeast Asian Games champion, found the going tough in the 400m hurdles at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium on Monday night.
Cray, the oldest in the field at 29 years old, submitted a time of 51.53, which was even slower than his 50.54 in the semifinals.
Also failing to snatch a medal was marathoner Mary Joy Tabal, who finished 11th in her event on Aug. 26.
The reigning Southeast Asian Games marathon champion clocked 2:51:41 in the ultra competitive marathon competition, failing to crack the top 10 and finishing the race 16 minutes and 50 seconds behind champion Rose Chelimo of Bahrain (2:34:51).
“I really tried my best, but the other runners paced themselves well,” said Ms. Tabal after her run, where she nonetheless wound up as the best Southeast Asian finisher.
Decathlete Aries Toledo, meanwhile, was not able to finish his event on Sunday because of an injury to his elbow.
Veteran long-jumper Marestella Torres-Sunang, for her part, finished ninth in her event on Monday while Filipino athletes in the women’s 100 meters, men’s 400 and 800 meters and men’s 110m hurdles were not so lucky as well.
Mr. Cray will again try his luck in striking a medal in the 4×100 relay with Anfernee Lopena, Clayton Bautista, and Trenten Beram on Thursday.
Trenten Anthony Beram and fellow Filipino-American Kristina Knott, meanwhile, were still battling in the 200 men’s and women’s events yesterday.
On Friday, EJ Obiena plunges into action in the men’s pole vault.
Meanwhile, Team Philippines as of 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday stood at 19th place in the medal standings with three gold medals and 12 bronzes. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Philippine volleybelles meet China in quarterfinals today

THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM battles Olympic champion China in the quarterfinals of the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. — PSC MEDIA

THE Philippine women’s volleyball team tries to fashion out an upset when it battles powerhouse China in their quarterfinal match at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia today.
Set for 8 p.m. (Manila time) at the Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Indoor, the Filipinas try to hold their own against the Chinese spikers, the Olympic champions, and book a place in the semifinals of the event in Jakarta.
The Philippines earned a quarterfinal berth after finishing as the fourth best team in Pool A with a 1-3 record, its lone win against Hong Kong in straight sets, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-22, on Aug. 23.
The win was the first time in volleyball for the Philippines in the Asian Games in 36 years.
It then followed it up with a spirited showing against host Indonesia on Aug. 25, where it went all out before bowing in four sets, 25-20, 25-20, 24-26 and 25-22.
Alyssa Valdez led the Philippines against Indonesia with 16 points and 14 excellent receptions, followed by Jaja Santiago with 12, Kim Fajardo seven, Maika Ortiz and Mylene Paat with six apiece.
“I think the team did well against Indonesia as the players showed that they can still elevate their game. We just have to lessen our errors, especially in service. We hope to correct them by our next game,” said national team coach Shaq Delos Santos as he assessed their performance in the last game.
Waiting for the Philippines is China, which has been rock solid in the tournament, topping Pool B in the preliminary round with a 5-0 record and sans dropping a set along the way.
China’s balanced attack is led by Zhu Ting, who is averaging 13.4 points per game.
The winner between China and the Philippines faces off in the semifinals with the victor of the quarterfinal pairing of Japan and Kazakhstan. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Arellano Chiefs close NCAA first round on winning note

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
WHAT was a roller-coaster ride in the opening round of Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the Arellano Chiefs swung to a win in the end after they ended their first-round assignment with a 76-72 victory over the Perpetual Help Altas on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Had it slow to start the contest, the Legarda-based Chiefs used a strong effort in the middle quarters to make the game close in the end and did enough of a push to pull off the win, their fourth as opposed to five defeats midway into the tournament.
Arellano struggled to get its offense going in the opening quarter, trailing 19-8 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
It, however, would find its mark in the second and third frames, outscoring the Altas, 43-34, to narrow its deficit to just two points, 53-51, heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, both teams had it back-and-forth, fighting to a levelled count, 67-all, with less than four minutes to play.
A three-pointer by Arellano guard Levi Dela Cruz broke the tie, 70-67, with three minutes to go.
Perpetual Help tried to claw its way back and was rewarded for it when Rey Peralta drained a triple of his own to tie the knot at 70-all at the 1:22 mark.
The tie was short-lived though as nine seconds later Maui Sera Josef handed the lead back to the Chiefs, 72-70, with a bucket inside the paint.
Arellano forced Perpetual Help to a passing error moments later, leading the latter to commit a foul on Adrian Alban.
But Alban opened a window for the Altas when he split his free throws for a 73-70 count with 24 ticks to go.
Jasper Cuevas immediately answered for Perpetual Help with a breakaway layup to come within a point, 73-72, with 18 seconds left.
The Altas attempted to steal the ball from the Chiefs off an inbound play but instead was forced to foul Kraniel Villoria when they failed to.
Villoria calmly sank both his charities to give his team more breathing room, 75-72, with 15 seconds remaining on the clock.
Perpetual Help attempted to go to its big man Prince Eze to come closer as time wound up but could not complete a pass amid a tight defense from Arellano, sealing the win for the Chiefs.
Villoria led Arellano with 15 points, followed by Sera Josef with 14 and Dela Cruz with 12.
Eze, meanwhile, paced Perpetual Help (5-4) with 22 points and 25 rebounds while AJ Coronel added 12 points.
“This was a big win for us after a tough loss we had last time around against San Beda. After that game, the players were down as their pride was hurt. This was a good rebound for us as we end the first round,” said Arellano coach Jerry Codinera, referring to their 98-79 loss to the San Beda Red Lions on Aug. 24 where star guard Robert Bolick scored 50 points for the defending champions in the win.
“We had a slow start in this game (against Perpetual Help) but good thing we came back and kept our focus,” he added.

Nestle seals deal to market Starbucks coffee

Zurich, Switzerland — Nespresso maker Nestle on Tuesday said it has sealed a deal to market the products of US coffee giant Starbucks around the world, outside of its cafes.
Swiss food giant Nestle, which also produces Nescafe instant coffee, had announced in May it would pay $7.15 billion (6.13 billion euros) for the rights to market Starbucks coffee globally.
Under the deal, some 500 Starbucks employees in the United States and Europe will join Nestle, the Swiss company said in a statement.
“With Starbucks, Nescafe and Nespresso we bring together the world’s most iconic coffee brands,” Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said.
“The outstanding collaboration between the two teams resulted in a swift completion of this agreement, which will pave the way to capture further growth opportunities,” he added.
According to the statement, the deal will significantly boost Nestle’s portfolio in North America.
Bloomberg News said Nestle has struggled in the US for years.
Under Schneider’s leadership, Nestle has made coffee a key priority in its growth strategy, particularly in the US.
Since the CEO took over in January 2017, the group has bought a majority stake in California-based high-end brand Blue Bottle Coffee and acquired Texan brand Chameleon Cold Brew.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said his firm is also set for a major boost under the deal.
“Bringing together the world’s leading coffee retailer, the world’s largest food and beverage company, and the world’s largest and fast-growing installed base of at-home and single-serve coffee machines helps us amplify the Starbucks brand around the world while delivering long-term value creation for our shareholders,” Johnson said. — AFP

Cars, houses, heroes: North Koreans win hearts at Asian Games

JAKARTA — North Korea’s athletes are not only scooping record numbers of medals at the Asian Games, they are winning hearts with an unprecedented charm offensive and will go home as heroes — rewarded with new cars and houses.
At the weightlifting competition which concluded Monday with an eighth gold — smashing North Korea’s previous best of four in 2014 — the team’s attitude has been the polar opposite from Incheon four years ago.
There, every medallist trotted out a well-worn script of thanking leader Kim Jong Un for his inspiration to reporters before being whisked away.
But over eight days at the Jakarta International Expo their athletes have gone off-piste to talk frankly about their nerves, fears, emotions, and life back home while mingling freely with spectators and reporters.
They even were joined by the South Korean weightlifting team to celebrate the end of the competition with an unprecedented joint team photo.
“I think we have shown the world that the people of Korea are the greatest as one,” +75kg winner Kim Kuk Hyang told AFP after posing with her South Korean counterparts, an astonishing statement from a North Korean given that the two countries have technically remained at war for the past 65 years.
Then she was off to grab tiny 4ft 7in (140cm) Ri Song Gum, the 48kg class gold medallist, and carry her aloft around the stage with the pair laughing, joking, and punching the air.
SELFIES AND SMILES
Hardly a single request for a selfie by a fan or Games volunteer has been turned down — most have been accommodated with huge smiles. At the 2014 Asian Games none was entertained.
The shackles are off, athletes are revelling and happy to reveal their personal stories for the first time.
Om Yun Chol even thanked South Koreans for helping him to win 56kg men’s gold.
“The passionate support from the South Korean cheerleading squad is my source of great strength,” he said while posing for pictures.
Was this really the same man who four years earlier had thanked leader Kim for teaching him how to “crack a rock with an egg”?
O Kang Chol cried buckets for his dead mother after his maiden gold medal in the men’s 69kg.
It was a touching moment as he mourned his mum who passed away earlier this year and whose ambition had been to see him win a first title.
“I will visit mother’s grave and give her this gold medal,” he told reporters, still weeping and unabashed at baring his grief — a huge contrast to the robotic strongmen and women paraded at previous championships.
It is an eye-opening change, which appears to have gone hand-in-hand with the thawing of global diplomatic relations culminating in the historic summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June.
South Korean observers have been taken aback. “We have never see the North Koreans like this,” Yonhap news agency reporter Joo Kyung-don told AFP.
The new open attitude appears to have been encouraged right from the top.
North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il Guk, one of Kim Jong Un’s right-hand men, was in attendance Sunday and giving his blessing to team officials spilling the beans on previously taboo topics.
‘THEY ARE NOT SCARY’
“The weightlifting champions who raise the country’s honour will be rewarded with a new house and a new car,” head coach Kim Kwang Dok told AFP, for the first time confirming something that had long been suspected in the secretive nation — that sporting glory is a way out of grinding poverty.
“Our athletes will get national hero status once they return and will get big attention from our people. Everyone will be proud.”
It is not just at the weightlifting arena that heads have been turning and relationships opening up.
The two Koreas marched together at the opening ceremony, fielded a joint team in women’s basketball and so far have won a historic gold and two bronzes in dragon boating.
“They are not scary or anything like portrayed on the internet,” South Korea basketball player Kim Han-byul said. “It’s been the normal girl talk with them.”
Weightlifting sisters Rim Un Sim and Rim Jong Sim tenderly cried tears of joy at each other’s success as they pulled off a golden double and said they couldn’t wait to get home to show off their medals to their family.
Rim Jong Sim was one who did remember, albeit briefly, to thank Kim Jong Un. “This gold medal isn’t for me, but it’s for my country and our supreme leader,” she said.
But such expressions were few and far between and her sister had soon changed the subject.
“I can’t describe how happy I am,” Rim Un Sim said. “We competed together and won medals at the university championship last year, but this is the Asian Games.” — AFP

Myanmar generals must be prosecuted for genocide — United Nations

A United Nations report says Myanmar’s top generals should be investigated and prosecuted for committing genocide and war crimes against the Muslim Rohingya minority, raising pressure on the international community to act against the country’s military and civilian government.
The UN Human Rights Council-mandated fact-finding mission’s report, released Monday, found Myanmar’s security forces systematically murdered, tortured, gang-raped and enslaved civilians, while also setting fire to entire communities in violation of international law. On the same day, Facebook Inc. said it was also removing accounts and pages linked to Myanmar’s top military officials, including commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, whose Facebook posts were cited by the UN as proof of pre-planning attacks.
“Military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang raping women, assaulting children, and burning entire villages,” the report says.
UN investigators said “gross human rights violations” committed by Myanmar’s military — and aided by the civilian government’s lack of action — were “shocking for their horrifying nature and ubiquity.” They recommended the UN Security Council implement travel bans and asset freezes against those who have violated international law. The UN should refer the matter to the International Criminal Court, or a specially-created international criminal tribunal, they recommended.
The UN report says the army’s crimes against the Muslim Rohingya, nearly 1 million of whom have fled into neighboring Bangladesh, is “similar in nature, gravity and scope to those that have allowed genocidal intent to be established in other contexts.”
Facebook Action
Acting on concerns about the misuse of its platforms in Myanmar, Facebook removed 18 accounts, one Instagram account and 52 Facebook pages that were followed by nearly 12 million people, the company said in a blog post. It’s also banning 20 individuals and organizations, including the army chief and the military’s Myawaddy television network.
“We want to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions,” Facebook said.
A Myanmar government spokesman did not answer a call for comment on the UN report. Previously, Myanmar government officials have blamed Rohingya for launching attacks on state security forces and for setting fire to their own homes.
Facebook has been criticized in a number of Asian countries as its platforms, including Instagram and the widely-used WhatsApp messaging service, are used to spread hate, misinformation and fake news or rumors that can help fuel mob violence.
“While we were too slow to act, we’re now making progress – with better technology to identify hate speech, improved reporting tools, and more people to review content,” Facebook said. “Today, we are taking more action in Myanmar.”
In India, fake rumors spread through WhatsApp led to mob attacks and numerous deaths, while President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines has been accused of using Facebook to target critics. These developments, in part, led WhatsApp to begin labeling forwarded messages, in an attempt to crack down on fake news and rumors.
In its post, Facebook noted that the “nascent” state of the news media and the rapid adoption of smartphones made Myanmar particularly vulnerable.
“We have a responsibility to fight abuse on Facebook,” wrote Facebook product manager Sara Su in a blog post earlier this month. “This is especially true in countries like Myanmar where many people are using the internet for the first time and social media can be used to spread hate and fuel tension on the ground.” — Bloomberg

Poy Erram uses first international stint as a way to boost his stock

JAKARTA — Poy Erram got his baptism of fire playing in his first Asian Games, going up against a pair of seven footers in China’s Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin, then a few days after, taking on the tough South Korean juggernaut.
In both games, the Rain or Shine-Pilipinas lost their tough matches and to make it worse, Erram suffered a chipped tooth while diving to save the ball. He had to be taken out as blood flew from his gums.
For the 6-foot-8 big man, he doesn’t mind loosing or suffering a chipped tooth. What’s more painful was the loss the Philippines suffered against South Korea which booted out our basketball team from the medal race.
“The loss to South Korea was a painful one. I’m willing to sacrifice my body, even my tooth,” said Erram as he flashed a big smile showing his front tooth loosing a chunk.
But for Erram, his first international experience gave him a lot of lessons, something which he could bring when he return and help his mother club, Blackwater, in the PBA.
“With the national team, you got the chance of playing some of your rivals from the PBA and they’ve been nothing but supportive, knowing I’m one of the youngest in the team,” added Erram. “Playing against some of the best players in Asia would also help me to get better. The international brand of game is different from the PBA as each game is like a do-or-die situation.
Erram is expected to be one of those players going to be retained by head coach Yeng Guiao to represent Gilas Pilipinas in next window of FIBA Asia World Cup qualifier three weeks from now in Iran.
Guiao is batting for continuity, the best way in forming up a team, and Erram could be a good addition.
“Without him in the Asian Games, we’re going to have a shallow frontline,” added Guiao, who will take over on a temporary basis the post vacated by suspended coach Chot Reyes. “Erram is really a big help for us. He’s been holding his own against the other big guys we’ve faced and his ability to play as a stretched big man in offense and his length on defense, provides us additional inside presence.” — Rey Joble

Filipino women delivering

TEAM Philippines has been having it rough in the ongoing 18th Asian Games in Indonesia but thanks to our women athletes we Filipinos get to celebrate here and there.
As of this writing, the Philippines has a total medal haul of 15 hardware in the latest edition of the quadrennial continental sporting meet happening in Jakarta and Palembang.
Of the 15 medals, three are gold and the rest bronzes. Majority of the haul were care off Filipino women athletes, including the three gold medals.
The first Filipinas to deliver for the Philippines was the women’s taekwondo poomsae team of Juvenile Faye Crisostomo, Rinna Babanto, and Janna Dominique Oliva which won bronze on Aug. 19.
It was followed by wushu’s Agatha Wong in the women’s taijiquan and taijijian all-around event and taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez in the -57kg event on Aug. 20 and 21, respectively, to keep the Philippines with medals to show for in the first three days of the Asian Games.
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz then broke through to get the country’s first gold medal later on Aug. 21, coming from behind to snatch the top spot in the women’s 53 kg weightlifting event.
Her efforts were followed up on by wushu’s Divine Wally, who chalked up a bronze in the -52kg sanda event on Aug. 22 that effectively avoided the Philippines from being finishing the day sans a medal.
Jiu-jitsu’s Meggie Ochoa won bronze in the women’s 49kg event on Aug. 24, unfortunately over compatriot Jenna Kaila Napolis.
On Aug. 26, the Philippine women’s golf team helped made it the best day for the Philippines in the ongoing Asian Games to date, running away with the top individual and team honors.
Filipino-Japanese golfer Yuka Saso made an impressive Games debut by winning gold in the women’s competition with teammate Bianca Pagdanganan getting the bronze.
Saso and Pagdanganan’s podium finishes towed the Philippine golfing team, which also included Louis Kay Go, to bag the team gold medal.
Providing the most recent bronze medals for the Philippines were Cherry Mae Regalado in pencak silat and Junna Tsukii in karate on Monday.
Considering how our female athletes are doing in the ongoing Games, local sports officials are well-advised to continue exploring and tapping the potential of our gallant women in sports.
The sporting world has been a cutthroat one of late, to say the least, but seemingly Filipino women athletes have been holding their own which I believe bodes well for Philippine sports in general as we have more talent to harness and hone.
And the good thing about it all is that Filipino women are not only excelling in so-called traditional sports but in other emerging sports and/or events as well.
Good job, ladies. May you continue making the country proud.
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com

First round jitters

FOR a while there, it looked as if top seed Simona Halep would duplicate her first round comeback at the French Open yesterday. Down a set and two breaks of serve, she appeared to have found her rhythm at the upgraded Louis Armstrong Stadium to level the count at four games apiece. For pundits, it was reminiscent of her initial stumble and eventual recovery at Roland Garros; she would go on to win her opener and pave a path to her first major championship.
Unfortunately for Halep, the United States Open’s Pro DecoTurf surface failed to be as much of an ally as red clay was two months ago. For the second straight instance at Flushing Meadows, she found herself ousted in the first round. Last year, however, she had a valid excuse; she faced career Grand Slam titleholder Maria Sharapova, who also happened to be extremely motivated to win following a 15-month doping ban from the sport. Yesterday, she had no such obstacle in her way; for all the skills of Kaia Kanepi as a power hitter, the player 43 spots below her World Number One ranking should have had no chance against her.
Tennis is tennis, of course, and upsets do happen. True, Halep looked to be on a roll; in her last four events, she has carved a runner-up finish and two victories, including her breakthrough at the French Open. On the other hand, she has historically been most vulnerable on hard courts. And while she had competed against Kanepi only once before, it needed to go through extra points in a third-set tiebreaker in order to prevail.
Notably, Halep blamed jitters in the aftermath of yesterday’s stumble. “Even when you are there in the top, you feel the same nerves. You are human.” Considering her record, she may well have a point. In 34 appearances so far on the Grand Slam rota, she has exited in the first round a shocking 12 times. It didn’t even matter that the New York crowd — typically on the side of underdogs — cheered her on; she lasted a mere 76 minutes.
If there’s any consolation, it’s Halep’s retention of her premier-rank status on tour. Nonetheless, she understands that, as difficult as it was for her to become first among equals, its infinitely more challenging to remain one. Her latest setback hammered that point quite clearly.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

China’s swine fever outbreak may spread in Asia: FAO

Beijing — An outbreak of African swine fever in China may spread to other parts of Asia, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned Tuesday, as the world’s largest pork producer scrambled to contain the disease.
China has culled more than 24,000 pigs in four provinces to stop the disease from proliferating, the FAO said in a statement. The first outbreak was reported in early August.
The FAO said the cases have been detected in areas more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) apart, meaning it could cross national borders.
“The deadly pig virus may spread to other Asian countries anytime,” the FAO said.
The “diverse geographical spread of the outbreaks in China have raised fears that the disease will move across borders to neighbouring countries of Southeast Asia or the Korean Peninsula where trade and consumption of pork products is also high,” it added.
China reported its first case of the disease in northeast Liaoning province earlier this month.
Last week, the eastern city of Lianyungang announced it had culled 14,500 pigs in an attempt to check the disease’s spread.
“The movement of pig products can spread diseases quickly and, as in this case of African swine fever, it’s likely that the movement of such products, rather than live pigs, has caused the spread of the virus to other parts of China,” explained Juan Lubroth, FAO’s chief veterinarian.
African swine fever is not harmful to humans but causes haemorrhagic fever in domesticated pigs and wild boar that almost always ends in death within a few days.
There is no antidote or vaccine, and the only known method to prevent the disease from spreading is a mass cull of the infected livestock.
In a report to the World Organisation for Animal Health, Beijing said an emergency plan had been launched and control measures taken to halt the spread of the disease.
The FAO warned in May of the risk of the spread of African swine fever from Russia.
Around half of the world’s pigs are raised in China, and the Chinese are the biggest consumers of pork per capita, according to the FAO. — AFP

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